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Monday, 28 May 2012

In One Line: Girl loves Banksy, Banksy loves girl, but will he reveal his secret identity?

Genre: Intelligent urban swoon

The Gist:

Lucy is obsessed with a graffiti artist called Shadow whose work she follows around town, and is convinced that he is the one for her. As in THE ONE. She knows this because when she sees his art, she feels like she is seeing into Shadow’s soul. Told in split gender narrative chapter alterations (shall I trademark that term? I feel like I oughta trademark that term.) we also get to see the world through Shadow’s eyes, who is, like, TOTALLY the guy whose nose Lucy broke when they actually dated a while back. But does he really want to reveal his true self to a girl like her? And when she discovers more of Shadow’s murky background, will Lucy still like what she finds?

The Cover:

No. Doesn’t do the book justice. Plain and simple. Plus this is one of those rare books with cross gender appeal, and putting a girl (who isn’t Lucy because I’m sure Lucy is blonde!) on the cover pretty much obliterates a younger male readership. Also, for a book about art, there’s really very little art actually going on here. Where’s the power and the passion? I think I feel so strongly about this cover because of the intensity with which I enjoyed this book. It deserves nothing less than iconic.

Why You’ll Love This Book

It’s stunning and swoony and NOT in a guilty pleasure way. This is a book that knows its mind and isn’t afraid to be clever. In fact, at some points the subtle intelligence with which is is written really astounded me.

Lucy. I love Lucy. I could be Lucy - if only my hair would stay up if I stuck a couple of paint brushes into it. What I love about her most? The fact that she has turned this messed up artist guy into a superhero, and isn’t ashamed to roll with it.

Shadow. He totally IS a superhero. He may not believe it, you may not believe it at first, but give a guy the power of spray-cans and a secret identity and there you have it, an urban superhero. And like every fantastic superhero, take away the shiny facade and you have someone endearingly messed up and much more wonderful.

Australia by night. This is a book about living in a city. A city with a lot of crazy people in it doing lots of crazy things, but somehow beautiful under the streetlights. The suburban Australian sprawl could be Edgware in places. It could be New York. It could be anywhere where too many lost souls have been crammed into one place. And yet instead of making it dreary and depressing, like Shadow Cath Crowley has injected art and passion into every abandoned train yard, every litter bin and every streetlight.

Art. Yeah this book has some serious art going on. You’ll want to read it with Google images close to hand. And that is SO COOL. Particular shout out of awesome goes to mentions of Dale Chihuly whose centrepiece at the Victoria and Albert Museum I have spent many an hour just gazing at.

Why You May Not Love This Book:

There is something about the cadence of the text that makes it hard to get into at first. I had to reread a few of the early pages, just to make sure that I was absorbing the information right. I was seriously confused as to why this was happening, but I think I’ve figured it out: this is an Australian book. I don’t mean that in any derogatory way whatsoever (!!!) but the fact that this book is written in another form of English does make a difference. The speech patterns are different, the syntax is different, and coupled with the fact that Cath Crowley is a very intelligent writer, you just have to give this book a few pages to get used to the fact that you’re reading a very different voice. Think about it in terms of this: how many times have you read a UK book and thought that the style was ‘American’, or just read an American book and ‘just knew’ it was set in America because of the writing style? The same goes for this book. It’s Australian, and I haven’t read many Australian writers before, so you do have to do a sneaky little bit of mental adjusting in order to really get what’s going on.

The plot is just a tiny bit improbable - I did at one point go ‘blimey! what are the chances?!’ but it’s not a big deal, because it’s a darned good story.

I wanted more poetry from Poet. He gets a bit lost within the book and when we do find snippets of his words, they aren’t enough.

Daisy and Dylan. Two minor characters that I just got a bit lost with. Who are they again? Why are they here? What are they doing? Do I care?

The Hypersomnia Test:

The first few chapters didn’t pass. This was because I was confused. I had heard so much hype around this book, and when the language didn’t initially click with me I just ended up wondering what all the fuss was about. But then when everything fell into place, when I realised that the whole book is just one beautiful roller-coaster night, I couldn’t put it down. I even missed my stop on the tube. And I have NEVER done that before.

Final Verdict:

Contempo-May has thrown many surprises my way so far, but this has been the best. I didn’t expect a book to be so thoroughly subtle, intelligent and beautiful all at once. Sure the plot may be a little convoluted, but that’s the great joy of writing - to be able to tell the stories that you don’t always see in real life. I really enjoyed this book. I was sad when it ended. I felt that there was room for an entire novel in every single character, and I LOVED Lucy. Some of the things she comes out with, I can resonate a lot with a girl like that. Please read this book.

Saturday, 26 May 2012

Genre: Teenage freakquake (yes that is a genre. I just said so, therefore it is true.)

The Gist:

Jody and Jolene Barton are twins, but they are nothing alike, until they both fall for the same River Phoenix look-alike boy. And there is NOTHING worse than a twinny love-triangle, especially when our narrator, Jody, has a big secret. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it is, because I don’t want to spoil it for you and I REALLY want you to read this book.

The Cover:

It’s a bit in your face, isn’t it?! It’s not to my taste. I think if I saw it on the shelves it wouldn’t be what I’d pick up, but I love the idea that people who are Jacqueline Wilson fans looking for something slightly older will see it and probably go ‘that’s for me!’. I also really like that it matches the latest Judy Blume editions - again, I hope her regular readers find this book! It’s PERFECT for them. There is more that I could say about this cover, but that would risk revealing the big twist, so I think I’ll just leave it there.

Why You’ll Love This Book

It’s set in my manor!!! I don’t quite live in Willesden Green, but I used to. So I know this place. I know the bus routes. I know the stations that the Metropolitan Line trains skip that the Jubilee line trains stop at (in order). I KNOW THE JOY AND WONDER OF BRENT CROSS SHOPPING CENTRE. Ok, so maybe this point should be under the category ‘Why I love this book’ rather than ‘Why you’ll love this book’ but I can assure you that it’s a hilarious and accurate portrayal of a particularly unique part of North West London.

This book has great music/film taste. References to Dolly Parton, The Doors and River Phoenix make this book kind of adorable. And also makes me want to watch Stand By Me again. Although I never understood the appeal of Johnny Cash. I always found him a bit creepy-sounding.

Urban Street Language. In parts it all sounds a little comedy sketch show and corny, but I really really LIKE that. The book is written with so much warmth and humour that you have to absolutely forgive some of the mock-modern street talk. Unless kids today do really talk like that and I am TOTALLY out of touch. Which is a distinct possibility.

Our narrator. Can’t say too much about this without giving away an important spoiler, but you will absolutely fall in love with Jody Barton. Jody Barton is amazing. Jody Barton deserves to be loved by each and every one of you.

Illustrations! There are these amazing cartoons all the way through the book, and not only that, but the size of the text changes depending on how loud/soft the characters are talking. That’s pretty novel, and pretty cool.

Why You May Not Love This Book:

The first half is pretty standard stuff. I was actually getting worried about how I would write this review because I seriously thought it was very mediocre. I mean, the language is fun and it’s an enjoyable read, but it wasn’t blowing me away. Until... until the BAZINGA moment that changed my life and opinion of this book completely. So stick with it, even if you feel like it’s boring and unoriginal, because I can PROMISE you that this book gets really really awesome.

I liked the illustrations, but I don’t think I really needed the text-font-size changes that keep going through the book. It makes the book seem a little younger than it actually is. I mean, it’s a nice idea, and it didn’t bother me too much, but to be honest I’m having trouble coming up with negatives for this section of my review, so I thought I’d mention that sometimes the text size changes were a little unnecessary and made scanning the text a bit awkward.

It’s on the younger end of the teen scale. By no means a bad thing, just be aware that it reads as ‘younger’ as in 10-11+ rather than the slightly older YA that’s personally more my thing.

I’m an Arsenal supporter.

The Hypersomnia Test:

Passed, but by default because I am trying new medication that is meant to help me sleep better at night, therefore meaning I don’t need to nap during the day! But I like to think that it would have passed even if I was feeling sleepy. The second half of the novel especially. The second half BLEW MY MIND.

Final Verdict:

A book that has really taken me by surprise, and I’m pretty sure it will do the same for you too. What I particularly like is that the issues it ends up dealing with are quite rare to come across in younger teen fiction. It’s refreshing, it’s excellently handled, and it has opened up my eyes to the talent of Hayley Long!

Thursday, 24 May 2012

In honour of nearly passing out with swoon upon reading Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (read my review HERE!), I thought it was time to indulge my secret literary passion: LURVE. We're talking all the silly, soppy, possibly unrealistic stuff, the literature we live vicariously through when we are single and lonely. The books that make our hearts thump, the authors who make us gaze wistfully at the stars.

This reading list is a little different, as well as suggesting titles to you, as in my previous reading lists, I will also be recommending whole entire authors to you, because there are some that really specialise in books of the romantic nature, and if you're into it, you'll probably want to read all of it.

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So in no particular order, I present to you, Things That Make You go SWOON!!!

1. Stephanie Perkins

This lady has only written two books so far, and they have both nearly killed me by making my heart yearn. Death by yearning. Upon finishing Anna and the French Kiss, which I read in one day, I very seriously started thinking about how I could bunk off work and get myself to Paris PRONTO. These books are hardcore swoon. Read them both, but not too quickly, because then they will be over that that will make you sad.

2. Simon Elkeles

Oh my. Prepare to fan yourself down like a French courtesan and blush blush blush, because soon you won't be able to think of anything but the big, bad Fuentes brothers. Each book in the Perfect Chemistry series features on a different brother as they find love with girls, often from the other (the right) side of the tracks. Chaste, teen erotica at it's best (as in, they actually don't feature that much sex, and what there is, is pretty tame, but I betcha there is some dirty fan fiction out there).

3. Jennifer Echols

I swear, it even looks like these books are blushing. Giant loved up faces with dreamy eyes. We're talking real, proper, old-fashioned American love stories here. The kind you want to read whilst lazing on a beach, the waves lapping on a nearby shore. The epitome of guilty pleasure.

4. Jennifer E Smith

I'm only including one book by this author, mostly because I know NOTHING about the other books, and this one is seriously swoon-worthy. It's a proper private fantasy, falling hopelessly in love with the boy you just so happen to sit next to on a flight to London. Indulge and enjoy this one!

She's only written one book! And it broke my heart! I wore flouncy dresses and listened to twirly, romantic music for days after reading this. It's all sorts of sad and wonderful and the language is SO PRETTY. Plus there are snippets of letters and poetry all the way through, and the UK edition is particularly beautiful. Please write more Jandy, PLEASE!!!

6. Sarah Dessen

Admittedly, Sarah Dessen's books are more about the issues than the swoon, but they are perfect teen chic-lit reading. And another admission (don't hate me) but I have NEVER read a Sarah Dessen. I suppose this makes me a bad book blogger/bookseller, but I know how popular her books are, and I know that they mean a lot to tons of readers out there. I also know that no reading list specialising in swoon and heartache would be complete without her.

7. Sara Zarr

Another one I haven't read yet! I'm so sorry! But I am aware of the near-classic status of this book and that Sara Zarr is another one of those authors that has become classic YA reading. Her book How to Save a Life comes out in the UK later in the year (see my Letterbox Love HERE!!!). Also, the cover of this book is really, really yummy.

8. David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

It's not often that two totally different authors can pair up, write alternate chapters, and make me nearly die from longing. I haven't read Nick and Norah (YET) but Dash and Lily has to be one of my favourite books EVER. I have Dash and Lily in hardback. I caress it sometimes and dream that I live in NYC and have a red moleskin. Read this book and you too will understand all of the feelings.

9. Elizabeth Scott

Another author I haven't read yet, but one that keeps cropping up on certain retail websites as someone I would quite like. I WONDER WHY?!?!?! A little disconcerted about the foot fetish going on in these covers, but otherwise, an author I'd quite happily read should I need a bit of escapist high school romance in my life.

10. Lauren Barnholdt

LOOK HOW ROMANTIC THESE COVERS ARE!!! What I love about american covers (most of them) is that you really know what you're getting, and with these books, you know you're going to be getting a GOOD TIME.

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It only occurs to me after finishing this reading list, that all the authors are American. I didn't think about this at all whilst I was compiling the list, but now that I come to think about it, I don't think there's a UK teen author that can challenge these Americans, although we do much better on adult chic lit I think. So, to clarify, I didn't compile this list to purposely exclude British authors, but it just so happens that if you are after real hot and heavy swoon, you have to look over the pond.

Wednesday, 23 May 2012

In One Line: Stephanie Perkins is my favourite and my best *shoves this book in your face*

Genre: Sumptuous and Sparkly Swoon

The Gist:

Lola’s life is pretty good. She has the most awesome Two Gay Dads, lives in a gingerbread-looking Victorian house in San Francisco, the best taste in clothes with an ambition to be a costume designer and an older super-rocker boyfriend with bleached hair. Life. Is. Sweet. Until the moving truck arrives. That’s right, the Bell twins are moving back into town after two years away. One of the Bell twins is super ice-skater and super ice-bitch Calliope, the other is Cricket. *huge romantic sigh* How will Lola react when the boy next door, the boy who once broke her heart, moves back in to her life?

The Cover:

Oh God America. WHY?!?! I hate having the cover designer’s idea of what the characters look like plastered on the cover, because it ruins half the fun. Mostly because Cricket is blatantly Andrew Garfield (pre-Spiderdude) and the Lola on the cover here looks like a goggle-eyed alien wearing a black sack. Stop ruining the fantasy for me American publishers! Just STOP IT!!!

Why You’ll Love This Book

We’re talking super-swoon here. Love, love, and then more love, except that this book isn’t like reading some soppy chic-lit. It’s intelligent, it’s quirky, and it’s genuinely fun.

Nobody writes a moment of heart-pounding omagod will-they-won’t-they chemistry like Stephanie Perkins. You can hear your heart actually thump at certain points. She’s an incredible writer and has an unbelievable talent for writing LURVE.

It makes you want to change your life, in a good way. For example, when I finished reading this I bought a watch in the urban outfitters sale which has a purple glitter strap. And I went out wearing a bowler hat and felt cool. It makes you want to be Lola, and it makes you want to fall in love.

It’s not often that I can actually promise you a darned good time with a book, but with this one, I honestly can’t see how anyone could possibly not enjoy it. It has the highest of my high endorsements.

Why You May Not Love This Book:

Everything is very blatant from the outset. You know what’s coming and it’s predictable. So if you like a bit of mystery I’d stay away from this book. Then again, Lola’s best friend is well into her mystery stuff, so you might get along with her.

Anna and St Claire from the first book are in it!!! And whilst some people might think that’s a good thing and gorgeously cute, I kind of like not knowing what happens to characters after their respective books are finished. I like to imagine my own ending. I’m already worrying that Lola and Cricket will make guest appearances in Ms Perkins’ next novel, because I want them to stay just in my own imagination forever, like they’re mine and mine alone.

You’ll look out of your bedroom window and get incredibly depressed that there’s not another house with another window close by with a Cricket sitting in it.

This book ends. This is a bad thing. It should go on forever and ever.

The realisation that your life isn’t a Stephanie Perkins novel. *sigh*

The Hypersomnia Test:

Passed. Passed. Passed. Mostly because this is the kind of book that I never wanted to end. I’ve had it on my To-Read shelf since it came out in the states ages ago, and I just didn’t want to read it because I knew that once I had read it, it would be over. Ugh. I feel so empty now. This book has broken me.

Final Verdict:

If the zombie apocalypse came and I succumbed to the ravenous hoards (because I’m slightly fat and slow at running and anti-gun so they would blatantly catch me in the first wave) then I call dibs on Stephanie Perkins brain. I want to eat it. I want to consume it. Because I’m betting that it tastes of love-hearts and bluebirds and unicorns with rainbow-striped horns. Yup. I loved this book. And I love Stephanie Perkins. To the extent that I want to eat her brains.

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

There aren't many days left in Contempo-May, which has been a little hectic but a lot of fun for me. The plan was to blog either a review or a reading list every working day for the month of May, and I think I've nearly done it! My blogging rate will go down a little bit I'm afraid once June hits, but that's ok. Contempo-May has been something special and I can't do it all the time. It also means I get to read some science-fiction and fantasy - WHICH I HAVE BEEN DESPERATELY MISSING. There's a lot of books featuring witches creeping into my To-Read pile, and I'm especially looking forward to those. Also have a bit of a craving for reading about people with psychic powers. Any recommendations???

So, as Contempo-May draws to a close, here's a little sneak peek at the books I've got left to read and review:

I've also got two more reading lists lined up: one on Ultimate Swoon in honour of Stephanie Perkins - I'll be posting my review of Lola and the Boy Next Door tomorrow - and a reading list on the best Adult Young Adult books. If you have any suggestions, keeping in mind the rules of Contempo-May, then I'll be more than happy to hear them.

Sara’s pretty certain about what she wants in life. So certain that she sends wishes to the universe in pink heart bubbles. She believes in true love and good grades and the awesome power of wishful thinking. Tobey has been in love with Sara since forever, and when she hooks up with High School Hottie and resident jock douchebag Dave, it motivates him to make some changes in his life to assure both of their happy ever afters.

The Cover:

This is a great cover. And it is definitely miles better than the original US cover:

I’d actually seen this book on the shelves and presumed it was set at an American summer camp or something. Basically that giant tree makes no sense whatsoever. So well done Scholastic UK for devising a cover that looks edgy, cool, and PINK. Because this is essentially a happy, fluffy book and deserves a happy, fluffy cover. My only concern was that my edition came with an ‘explicit’ warning sticker, and I have no idea why. It made me think I was going to get something really juicy and bad (Melvin Burgess or Judy Blume style) but there was nothing actually in the book that suggested to me that a ‘explicit’ sticker was warranted. I mean, yeah, there’s sexytimes talk and everything, but nothing too bad compared to other books out there.

Why You’ll Love This Book

It’s a blatant, happy, soppy love story. Nothing life-changing, but a perfect book for a lazy summer holiday.

This is probably the best depiction of what an American High School is really like that I’ve read in ages (as if I’d actually know). And I mean you get a real feel for what school is actually like - the class set-up, the teachers, the lunch hall. There is never a time where I feel like anything is cliched, and the goings on of high school life over the few months the novel is set around is great fun to read.

He-said/she-said chapter alternations! I love this, I love getting to see both sides of the story, and what’s particularly fun about this book is that you get to see what our two heroes think about exactly the same event. It’s amazing to see how they interpret their different situations, and that made it quite a thrill to read at times.

Why You May Not Love This Book:

I like our narrators, I really do, but they just didn’t sound as distinct from each other as they could. And especially with Tobey, we’re constantly told that he is a slacker and a bit of a loser, but I think there is more ‘telling’ than ‘showing’ in this book. I always love a bit of ‘he-said’ ‘she-said’ chapter alternations, but I’m not sure that the personalities of the main characters were enough to have me hooked all the way.

*SPOILER ALERT* The characters get together way earlier than you think they would, which left me wondering what the rest of the book was for. I’m not sure even now. And the actual moment of the characters getting together was a bit lacking on the impact stakes. I was a little bit ‘oh, is that it?!’

It’s a bit easy. Which is fine if you want a breath of fresh air between heavier reads, but I mean, this is really easy. Regular readers of YA may find this lacking compared to other stuff that’s out there. You might want to give this one to your little sister instead of reading it yourself.

Your copy of the book may or may not come with cheerleaders trilling 'AWESOME!' and 'OPTIMISM!' and 'HAPPILY EVER AFTER!' at you. I did not appreciate mine.

The Hypersomnia Test:

It didn’t pass. I was on the tube and I thought I should get on with my reading but my eyes were getting heavy, so I put the book down and had a nap on my way into work. To pass the Hypersomnia Test, I must want to read the book more than I want to sleep. And sleep won this time.

Final Verdict:

My presiding thought when I finished this book was wondering just why Ms Colasanti had written it. There is something missing, some passion, some drive, which makes this book end up feeling like just the echo of a good story. There was nothing quirky or original enough to make it stand out from other books on the scene, and I just couldn’t tell what the point of the novel was. Is it that real true love actually happens for teenagers (I know it does, but this story was a bit too fluffy and simplistic for it to stand out)?, was it that grades are the most important thing of all? Was it that it’s always best to conform to what your teachers and parents think in order to be happy? I want more drama, grit and conflict from my YA. And don’t get me wrong, I love a good fluffy read (as regular blog readers will already know) but I also like my good fluffy reads to be quirky, original, and have a bit of heat and passion. This book just didn’t do it for me.

Monday, 21 May 2012

In One Line: girl writes email to her soap-star hero, and gets a reply!

Genre: High School heart-ache, with a touch of High School Musical!

The Gist:

Georgie is obsessed with a guy called Dylan. But Dylan isn’t the cute, pale and sparkly loner dude in the school canteen, Dylan is an actor on a slightly Hollyoaks sounding TV show. But no matter, because Georgie is IN LOVE. So she does what any of us would do, and sends him an email through his fan website declaring her undying passion. AND SHE GETS A REPLY! But shhhhh.... don’t tell her that it’s just an automatic response.... at least it is at first...

The Cover:

I completely dig this cover. I wish it wasn’t quite so white, but for a novel that conducts itself purely over email it’s suitably sparse and intriguing. I’m actually a fan of the original self-published cover of this book:

Even though the girl on the cover looks like she’s about twenty-one and is a model in a safe sex leaflet, I love the doodling aspect. I wish the designers had left that in. Either way, the final cover is inoffensive and I love the author font - could make good branding for any future novels by Ms Curham, don’t you think?

Why You’ll Love This Book

The entire thing is told in emails. THE ENTIRE THING. And whilst at first I got slightly scared that this may end up feeling boring, or repetitive, or contrived, IT’S NOT. It works. It totally works.

The most amazing thing Ms Curham does with the email thing is that she gets the voices spot on. And I’m not just talking about normal narrative first person voices, but EMAIL first person voices. Because we all sound different in email, how we write is naturally going to be different than how we speak, but the voices in this book are managed perfectly. They feel real. You feel like you are actually going through someone’s inbox, and the fact that I found all this so believable just made it all the more of an amazing read.

This isn’t just some fluffy little creature of a book. Oh no. This book packs some emotional punch too, and does it in a way that doesn’t feel forced or like the author ever thought ‘maybe I should do something a bit serious here?’ The whole book works as one cohesive whole, and the email structure only means you feel MORE involved with all the pain and drama.

High School Musical! The kids in this book are putting on a show of Bugsy Malone, and of course our narrator is a bit of a secret superstar. I love that I can live a little bit vicariously through her.

Why You May Not Love This Book:

It’s rather tweeny compared to other books I’m reviewing as part of Contempo-May, and probably suitable for the eleven-plus crowd, which is fine. It’s the kind of book which gives you meat in it’s ‘issues’ so I’m pleased that it didn’t push any further boundaries in terms of sex/drugs etc.

When this book does get heavy, boy does it get heavy, much more than you’d expect for the novel that starts out the way it does. If you’re of a sensitive nature, looking for nothing more than light-hearted swoon, I’d give this one a miss. Saying that, at the same I’d also encourage you to read this book, because you can’t exist on a diet of light-hearted swoon alone. Every once in a while you need a bit of gritty meat.

The Hypersomnia Test:

It passed! And like I’ve said in previous posts, keeping me awake on a tube journey whilst reading often has a lot to do with the pacing of the plot. The format of this book, told entirely in emails, meant you were constantly looking for the next hit, looking forward to the next reply and desperate to find out what happened next.

Final Verdict:

This book is a perfectly formed little treat. It sticks rigidly to it’s format, and manages never to sound tired or trite. Instead of pummelling you with heartache and grit it slowly eases you in with humour so that when you do reach the tough stuff towards the end, you are fully onside with the characters and know exactly how they’re feeling. I actually think this book is pretty remarkable for a debut. I’m really jealous of Siobhan’s handling of the voices, especially within emails, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

About Me

Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm an actual proper writer person, but don't freak out if you're on a online book retailer and nothing comes up when you search for my name. My first novel, Othergirl, will be coming out in 2015 with Andersen Press. Until then, you can read about my life and general musings right here!